


Knight-Fall

by CommanderNexus0



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: :P, Gen, I need to prioritize tags, Mentions of Slavery, PDH, This is how I waste my time, This story is just a game of catch and release, and a slave, first fic, no direct relation to cannon, please don’t hate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-04-27 23:32:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14436540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderNexus0/pseuds/CommanderNexus0
Summary: After being betrayed by his Clones, Jedi Knight Karem Otel is thrown into an unfortunate series of events with a single clone trooper and an unarmed shuttle. The force must want him to suffer at this rate. He must have kicked a basket of Loth Kittens off a cliff. Whoops.I’m bad at summaries, forgive me.





	1. Knight-Fall

It was turning into another restless night, far from uncommon as the war progressed through its third year. Tonight felt different though, he could feel the force churning in its unbalance as he meditated on his cot. It wasn’t unusual for there to be no balance in this time of galactic war, but something felt off as if something big was going to happen.  
  
He tried to block out those feelings as he meditated, reaching instead for the soldiers on the Venator. There were soldiers everywhere on the ship and although they all shared a face, they looked very different through the force. Today though something felt wrong with them, they were blank as if the men he had served with were freshly wiped droids.  
  
He felt a disturbance as a group of clones grew closer to his quarters, an air of darkness surrounding them like a cloak. They were coming for him, why they were, he couldn’t tell, but the cloak of darkness only held one thing, death.  
  
The door hissed open as the clones walked towards it, their weapons drawn and pointed through the narrow door to the dark room. “Where’d he go,” The lead asked behind his red-orange striped helmet as they went further in. They slowly scanned the room looking for anything out of place as a figure lowered from a ventilation shaft in the ceiling.  
  
He walked quietly to the door stepping lightly on the cold metal floor. His heart was pounding in his chest as he neared the door. It opened with a quiet hiss that was deafening in the quiet suspense, the troopers turned to him, their blasters raised at his chest.  
  
He leaped through the door as the troopers shot blue bolts at him from his quarters, dully hitting the door as it closed. He quickly got off of the ground and activated his green blade through the door’s control. He closed it as quick as he could before sprinting through the sleek halls of the ship.  
  
He skidded to a stop as a squad of clones rounded the corner to the hangar bay, “Halt” one shouted as they raised their weapons and shot at him. He reached out with the force as they ran closer, the blast door slowly closing as he passed, cutting off the troopers and the hangar bay with it.  
  
The only option now was an escape pod which would quickly be shot down by any cannons the ship had. He had to find a way off of the ship, but he also needed answers to what was happening. These troopers had gone through hell and back with him, why did they turn on him all of a sudden?  
  
His thoughts were cut short as the blast doors started opening with a groan, the troopers behind it quickly shuffling forwards. Thinking would have to wait he thought before moving on, quickly darting down the hallway and into a turbo lift. The ride was uneventful but he used it to devise a plan. The hangar bays would surely be locked down as well as the escape pods so he was stuck unless he could get help from the inside or outside.  
  
The lift opened and he quickly started running, barely registering where he was going. He ran through a quickly opening doorway, jerking to a complete stop in terror. The mess hall was full of clones eating and talking to each other until he had barged in.  
  
He looked around as the troopers all stood up and pointed their blasters in his direction. Their identical faces were all looking at him with a small sneer as a few started inching forwards. “Oh -”.  


* * *

The man cursed loudly as he realized where he had walked into. A helmeted clone stood near the back of the crowd in confusion as he looked towards each of his brothers. Why were they aiming at him?  
  
He heard the order but was confused, the Jedi he had served with never showed any signs of treason much less committed acts of treason. Why was he the only one to realize it did his brothers not remember that this was someone who had protected all of them?  
As soon as he activated his lightsaber the clones started firing, blue bolts of plasma soaring at or past him. Any bolts that were deflected hit way from the clones or to disarm them without serious harm.  
  
One of the tables flew through the crowd, knocking some of the soldiers down, to shield him from most of the bolts as he backed through the door. The troopers were quickly moving at the door as they tried to move the table aside. “That traitor was lucky to get away this time” his brother grumbled.  
  
He was in shock. What had he just seen? The Jedi they all served with had just been forced out of a room by way of blasters. “Hey Nexus,” his brother said while knocking his shoulder, “You still with us?”.  
  
“Yeah” He replied distractedly, “I just remembered, I need to inventory the cargo for the Admiral”. He headed quickly to the door on the other side of the mess hall hearing a quick warning from his brother.  
  
This was too much, he saw his brothers try to shoot down their general as if he were just a clanker. He had to try to get to the bottom of this and soon. He ducked down a hallway where the wall had been scorched by blaster shots and cut into by a lightsaber. His heart dropped as he saw a helmeted trooper in the corner and rushed to reach him.  
  
Reaching for the man’s neck he sighed at the slow pulse, he was just unconscious. He slowly stood up looking around before heading down the hallway to the cargo bay. He stepped into the room, locking the door behind him. It was eerily quiet in the darkened room as he walked around, scanning the room cautiously.  
  
“General” He called out into the silence, “Sir, I just want to understand what’s going on”. He stopped as he heard a soft thump behind him like someone had dropped from the ceiling. Turning around, he rose his weapon and was met with the tip of a glowing green blade.  
  
“Drop your weapon trooper” The General ordered, his face was unreadable aside from a glare. He took a hand slowly off of his blaster and rose it just as slowly, he crouched low and let the blaster fall the rest of the way before standing up straight with his hands in the air.  
  
The General sighed, dropping his arm and deactivating his blade, visibly relaxing. “Take off your helmet, we have a lot to talk about” He levitated a few of the smaller crates over and cautiously lowered himself onto one. He was staring warily at the door and the trooper.  
  
The trooper saw a look of shock on him for the briefest of seconds as he removed his helmet. He probably wasn’t blind to the fact that his skin was a color almost identical to his white armor, his hair the same. The General recovered quicker than most as his face shifted back to being cautious.  
  
“Why did those soldiers try to kill me,” He asked quietly, he seemed more tired than he had ever looked before, but perhaps this is the effect that running for your life in the middle of the night had on a person. “And why aren’t you?”.  
  
He thought for a moment before answering, he didn’t quite know why his brothers were blindly following the Chancellor’s orders either. “There was a general kill order for the Jedi on grounds of treason” he answered, from the surprised look on the General’s face it seemed he wasn’t aware of the order, “And I just want answers, I seem to be the only one who realizes that you have been nothing but loyal to the Republic and its people”.  
  
“If what you say is true then I’ve got to get out of here, and fast” the General responded as he stood up and headed to the door. He couldn’t leave yet, there were so many questions left unanswered. “Sir, if I may, what did the Jedi do to warrant the death of your entire Order?”.  
  
He stopped for a second and turned to the clone with a stern gaze, the closest he had seen the Jedi to angry, before hiding it. “I really couldn’t say” He replied in what could pass as a monotone, “But I think you should take that information with a grain of salt” he went to the door and with a wave of his hand it swished open.  
  
The clone watched as he walked through the previously locked door, he had a duty to bring the Jedi to justice, but he didn’t think that was the right thing to do. “Sir, wait up” he called out running as he put his helmet on. The Jedi seemed shocked that he was being followed, this was certainly going to be an interesting trip.


	2. The Not so Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keeping a low profile is important to any escape, but when there's a Jedi involved, there's no chance of that happening. Or in other words, the escape of a lifetime go bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm uploading again because why not, and I think I'm going to update this twice a week, on Thursday for sure and sometime else during the week. Anyway, punctuation errors should be few or none, I hope, so enjoy!

“Why are you coming with me,” he asked as they walked down the hallway, it was getting more and more difficult to move unnoticed with all of the extra patrols on the ship. “If they find that you’re helping me they’ll kill you”.

“It’s worth the risk sir” the trooper responded confidently, ”I’m doing what I think is right”. The trooper didn’t seem to doubt that he was doing the right thing, and in all honesty, he didn’t deny that a clone on the inside would help.

They stopped and ducked around a corner as a pair of clones walked into the hall. The trooper looked at him, the fear radiating off of him. “Go out there” He whispered to him “You can distract them and I’ll take them out”. It was rushed but it was the first thing that came to mind.

As the trooper got out of their cover he was instantly confronted by the patrol, being reprimanded for being alone. They quickly turned around as he reported that he had checked the halls down there. The patrol turned away and that was when he came out from cover and forced them into the wall and smashing them quickly into each other, the armor making a crack noise as it was slammed together.

“Impressive,” the trooper said as the Jedi stood next to him, not able to hide his nerves. “We need to get these two out of sight or they’ll know we were here,” he said, quickly picking up one of the unconscious trooper’s arms.

“I never did get your name,” He said as he dragged the other trooper. The nearest room opened revealing a small room filled with a few extra sets of armor and some weapons, it would work well enough.

“CT-6152” He replied briskly, “But most people call me Nexus”. An interesting nickname even for a clone trooper, although with his pale complexion he could probably grab the attention of any unsuspecting bystander. Nexus stopped suddenly and started looking between him and something in the armory’s collection, “I’ve got an idea”.  


* * *

The two walked out of the armory, both were now in the sleek white clone armor and were sporting a pair of blasters. “Now that you’ve got a disguise, and I have a patrol partner we can slip past other patrols unnoticed” Nexus explained as they passed through the door “Just keep speaking to a minimum”.

“We still need a way out” He replied keeping quiet as another patrol walked past, nodding as they went. Nexus nodded slightly before answering.

“They’ll need patrols in the hangar deck and we can get a ship from there” He seemed confident that this would work, “Not to mention they probably haven’t taken your command codes out of the system yet”. He nodded in approval just as they walked past a patrol group, the way to the hangar deck should be clear the rest of the way.

Should was the key word in that sentence. In front of the hangar’s entrance were two clones with a scanning unit, a security checkpoint to make sure no unwanted guests would get in. They walked up to the point, he was lagging slightly behind, Nexus holding out his arm was scanned and his identification was displayed for the guards to see. Nexus was allowed to pass and he walked up to the door before turning to watch.

Instead of holding his arm out he waved his hand slowly in front of them, “You don’t need to see my identification” he said and the trooper repeated, “Move along” he said and again the trooper repeated with his own hand gesture. As they walked through the door they both let out a nervous breath.

They made it look like they were just patrolling the hangar deck as they made it towards a shuttle. Its two wings were sticking up while troopers were boarding, this ship wouldn’t work. They were walking past the shuttle as they heard a call from behind them, “You two, come here” he called and the two stopped dead in their tracks.

They turned around and started walking towards the man, it was the ship’s admiral. “We seem to be missing two troopers, you two will replace them” He ordered sternly, even before whatever happened he was always a tough person to like.

They chirped a quick reply as they were lead onto the shuttle to join the other soldiers. “Your jobs are to make sure the Separatist leaders surrender without a fight” he informed them as the shuttle jostled out of the hangar bay.

The shuttle ride went by quick with no bumps or difficulties, and the ship landed just as easily. The troopers stormed out with the Admiral in the rear. There were a group of Neimoidians dead in their tracks as the path to their shuttles was cut off by the republic troopers. “We surrender” One of them squealed.

“Good,” the Admiral said with a smirk, “Troopers, deal with them”. The troopers formed up in a wall between the Neimoidians and the Admiral who was ascending into the shuttle. They raised their blasters at the group of aliens, causing them to recoil in fear. He looked towards Nexus who was looking between his brothers in what was most likely shock at their cruelty as the group was quickly dealt with.

“I think now would be the time to slip away,” He said as the troopers were pilling back into the shuttle. Nexus nodded as he pulled him off to the side quickly dodging to the side of the shuttle. Behind it was a landing field full of deactivated droid ships as well as Separatist shuttles. They quickly made their way from the shuttle, dashing their way across the large airfield.

“What are you two doing” They heard from behind them. It was the admiral, his stern gaze could burn holes in a battle droid, and he was followed by 4 other clones.

“What are the odds of us winning,” He asked towards Nexus.

“Not good” He responded just as soon as the question was asked.

“Better than most of the time” He responded as he stood forward with his blaster raised. “With all due respect Admiral” He started sarcastically, “But I’m afraid you’re not in command here”.

“What are you talking about trooper,” The admiral asked with a sneer, “Stand down!”. The Admirals troopers raised their blasters at him as he stepped closer, “Take off your helmet” The Admiral ordered briskly.

“Sir yes sir” he teased as he reached up to take off his helmet. He lifted it off taking note of the Admiral’s shocked face. “Did you really think I would stay on the ship.

“Revealing yourself was a mistake” The Admiral chided, “You will end General Otel” The troopers readied their weapons as their officer raised his hand in the air, “Or should I say, Karem, your traitorous regime is at its end, and its followers scattered”. He lowered his arm and chaos broke loose.

Blasters sounded as they released their rounds and he barely had time to pull out his lightsaber from where it was hidden. “Get to the shuttle, I’ll cover you” He yelled back to Nexus. The blasts were easy to deflect but the troopers were inching closer and if they got too close things would get ugly. He suddenly felt his hand jerk back and release the lightsaber from his grip, the only thing he could feel was the new blaster burn on his hand.

He reached out towards his discarded blaster and pulled it through the force. As soon as it landed in his uninjured hand he whipped it towards the clones. He was shot in the shoulder quicker than he could pull the trigger and it dropped to his side uselessly. The blaster fire stopped as the Admiral stepped forwards, “Oh, how the mighty have fallen” He sneered as he got closer, stepping to the side as he observed the Jedi, “Any last words before you reconnect with your traitorous brethren?”

He mumbled something incomprehensible to the officer as he looked up defiantly. “What was that,” the officer asked.

“I asked,” He said emphasizing those words, “Have you prepped the ship”. He looked directly at the Admiral as a shuttle lifted off the ground noisily behind him. The Admiral looked at it with horror, “You never were good at looking at the whole picture” he joked.

The troopers took aim at the ship behind him as it moved over them. It was an unarmed cargo ship but it would have to do if they wanted to get out of here. The ship was now slightly ahead of him and he took this time to jump from his kneeling position and spring into the open hatch of the cargo hold, pulling his lightsaber with him as he went.

He quickly slammed his elbow into the controls pressing a few buttons at the same time, one of which being the door control. The door slammed shut and he felt the ship speed up. He made his way to the cockpit and dropped himself in one of the seats. “You seem calm about all this,” He said as Nexus noticed his injuries.

“I’ll be fine” Nexus replied, “Just haven’t fully realized what I’ve gotten myself into”. He laughed quickly at what was said. “Sorry sir, but the ship doesn’t have any medkits, so you’ll have to wait for treatment” Nexus apologized with remorse as the blue sky faded into the star-speckled darkness of space.

The Venator’s dagger-like shape loomed above them as they exited atmosphere, and it wasn’t long before they were noticed. The cruiser started firing whatever weapons could hit them, but the ship was able to avoid the loose net of cannon fire aimed at them. It wasn’t until the ship started to shake that panic arose.

Emerald blasts were assaulting their aft as they moved out of the cruiser’s range. They were under attack from a squadron of Republic fighters that were now appearing on sensors. “Better plot hyperspace coordinates soon” He advised as the ship banked to avoid a rocket, nearly throwing him out of the chair.

“I don’t know how it’s not really a part of clone infantry training” Nexus panicked. The ship banked downwards and he was flipped out of his chair landing on his injured hand. He let out a pained groan, trying and failing to get up with another pained groan.

“The ship should have a few preloaded” He groaned from the floor as he lifted his head off the ground “Pick one and-” He was interrupted as the ship shook and his chin hit the ground, his teeth clattered together with his tongue in between causing another pained groan. “Just pick one and go” He shouted. He felt the ship go into hyperspace as he slid across the floor and into the seat bolted to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I appreciate questions, constructive criticism and kudos, and thanks for reading.


	3. Becoming the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After making the jump to hyperspace Nexus and Karem encounter old enemies and are forced to make new allegiances to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for any awkward bits in this chapter, I'm not that good at writing, but, hey this is just for fun! Enjoy, and congratulations for making it to around the halfway point.

He watched as space bled into the blues and white of hyperspace and released a small relieved chuckle. “We did it sir” he cheered as he slumped in his seat, they had managed to escape the ship and then escape the system entirely.

“That’s great” He heard the General grumble, “Now, could you lend a hand and help get me off the floor”. He looked down and saw him slumped on the floor trying to push himself to the wall and up with his legs.

Rushing over, he grabbed the man under his uninjured shoulder and helped him back into the seat he looked at the wounds again, they weren’t bleeding for the most part, but things would get much worse if he didn’t get medical attention soon. “I’ll go check in the hold to see if there are any medical supplies,” He said as he walked through the opening hatch.

The hold was dimly lit, but the glowing screens on the crates were more than visible. Glancing at the screens he tried to find out which ones held medical supplies, but as far as he could tell they were just munitions and various parts to fix droids and ships. One of them had to have some sort of supplies for the biologicals of the CIS, he just hadn’t found it yet.

He paused as he examined the last crate in the row if its inventory list were to be believed it was one of a few shipments of battle droids. This one contained a couple B1 units, shut down and collapsed for easy transport. Walking over to the next he found that it held a pair of B2 battle droids with a few potentially useful accessories. The last crate was the most surprising. It contained a few droids that were more specialized than the others, those being a T series tactical droid and 3 collapsed BX series commandos.

Storing this information away for later he continued on his way down the rows encountering similar crates of munitions and spare parts. Walking back to the front of the ship he felt it exit from hyperspace. As he walked through the door he stopped dead in his tracks, there was at least a fleet of Separatist ships ranging from the long, slim shapes of Recusant destroyers to the much larger Providence cruisers.

“Where are we,” the General asked as he looked upon the fleets of ships. It was weird to see a fleet of Separatist ships not orbiting a planet or engaged in battle somewhere in the galaxy, it just wasn’t how they operated.

“Somewhere in the Sullust system, this was the where the shuttle was sent from, so it was the highest up on the list” He explained. He sat back down in the pilot seat as he casually flew in towards the cruisers. The Providence was probably the most likely to have a medical droid and supplies, so that was where they were going.

The landing was easy as the door was open, there were no droid fighters crawling around the hull and from as far as he could tell there were no droids in the hangar. This was too easy, something was off, droids don’t just turn off like this.

* * *

The pair walked out of the ship expecting to be ambushed but were only assaulted with the eerie silence on the dead ship. Nexus lowered his blaster after scanning the entire room, apparently finding nothing that could harm them. “Be careful, this could be some kind of trap” He advised as they walked into a spacious hallway.

Nexus walked ahead of him, keeping watch to make sure there were no droids around a corner. He was getting a bad feeling from the emptiness of the ship, the deafening silence was starting to get unsettling. Then he heard it, a yelp from his clone companion that had him rushing off around the corner.

He almost laughed at what he saw, on the ground was at least a squad of battle droids, neatly collapsed on the ground. “Just a few deactivated clankers,” He said hearing the mock in his tone, “I don’t think they’ll hurt you”.

Nexus looked back at him his helmet hiding the slight frown that could be heard in his voice,“I know, but why are they deactivated” he asked back. He took in the sight before him more serious now after the question, this was extremely strange.

They continued downwards running into several droids shut down while they were going about their business. They entered a larger room connected with two other halls, 3 doors were positioned in the back wall, presumably turbolift shafts. “The bridge should be up this turbo lift,” Nexus said approaching it quickly.

“We need to find a med bay first” He called forward, walking slower as not to disturb his injuries. “If this is a trap then we’ll need me to be in some kind of fighting state”, Nexus stopped abruptly and turned around almost sheepishly.

“Oh, right sir” He apologized as he pointed down one of the extended hallways, “There might be something down that way”.

* * *

The two continued walking down one of the seemingly endless hallways for a while before he noticed his General stopped.“We should take a break” Nexus said. When he saw that the General was leaning against the wall, slowly sliding to the floor. The General tried to protest, but it was no use as Nexus sat down next to him.

He passed over a ration bar to the General who just gazed at him with a look of disbelief. Why was he looking at him like that, he didn’t understand what he was doing wrong. He glanced down at the ration bar and realized that the general didn’t have any way of grabbing the rations with his injuries. “Uh” He fumbled, “Sorry sir”, the General just chuckled slightly as the bar was pulled away.

“We need a guide to show us around the ship” The Jedi spoke, “We can’t keep wandering around the cruiser”. It must have been difficult walking for so long in his condition, Nexus could see how much blood the Jedi had lost.

Nexus nodded slightly, turning around, looking for any possible ways to distinguish where they were and how they could reach their destination. “Why don’t we just ask,” He said as he bent down to observe one of the droids. He carefully pried off the droid’s backplate and tugged on some of the wires.

“What are you doing,” The General asked weakly, pulling himself off the floor. He was about to protest that the general should rest when the droid’s eyes flickered back to life. It’s body slowly unfolded as it stood up right.

“What” the droid spoke as it looked around, its servos whirring as it took in its surroundings. It finally seemed to notice them as it raised its blaster to them “You don’t have authorization to be here”.

“We landed here because my friend needs medical attention” Nexus explained quickly as he held his hands up just as quick, “We were attacked by clones and when we arrived here we found that all of the droids were deactivated”.

The droid made a humming sound as it processed what was going on, constantly looking between the two humans before it. It felt like an eternity of silence, waiting for the droid to make up its mind. The silence was interrupted by the droid’s mechanized voice, “I’ll have to take you to the commander, he’ll want to see this”.

The droid led them back down the hallways of the ship silently, the only sound coming from the sounds of mechanized limbs and footsteps. They soon ended up back at the turbolift rooms where they were directed towards the center door. It was cramped when they stepped in, the lift being designed to hold the slim droids efficiently, and it started to rise with a jostle.

“Why are all of the droids shut down on this ship,” the General asked, breaking the awkward silence. The droid turned its head towards them at the sudden question.

“The droid army received a command to shut down after it was declared the CIS had lost the war” the droid answered. It suddenly flinched in what was probably surprise, making them jump back in surprise as well. “What am I doing activated” he yelled in a tone of fear, “I disobeyed a direct protocol”.

Before the droid could do anything the lift doors opened with a hiss. The rows of diagnostics and other controls were still flashing as they pushed past the droid into the bridge, but all of the droids at the stations were deactivated. In the center of the bridge was what looked like a high backed throne looking out into the void of space through the large viewport. “Hey” He turned around to see the droid crossing the bridge to get to them, “Where do you think you’re going”. He sighed as the droid once again raised its blaster on them.

“We went to go see your Commander” the General replied as he walked ahead of the throne, “But he seems to be sleeping on the job”. The droid pushed him forwards and he started walking to meet up with the injured Jedi.

On the chair sat a wide chested T series tactical droid, slumped over as if it had fallen asleep. Their escort moved to its commander and waved a three-fingered hand in its face. While it was distracted he noticed the General walk over to a comm station, gently putting his injured hand on it, pressing down on the controls. “Sir, what are you doing,” he asked as he moved closer.

“If we can repower these droids we might be able to figure out exactly what happened and get some help” the General answered wincing as he tried to press down on a button. He quickly motioned for the Jedi to move over, taking his place when he did and finished up the work.

There was a quiet wave of servos starting up around them as the droids presumably reactivated. He grinned at the Jedi quickly as they turned around to face the droids. He turned to find a blaster pointed at his face, quickly cursing as he stepped back defensively.

“How did you board this ship” A lower, mechanized voice droned from their left. The blue and beige body of the tactical droid slowly made its way towards them with its thin legs. “Why have you come aboard,” It asked as it stood to face them.

Before the General could respond Nexus stepped forwards, drawing the attention of the droids. “My friend needs medical attention” He explained. The droid looked over to the General who was standing unsteadily, blood glistening on the black undersuit of his armor.

He saw the droid freeze as it passed down the Jedi’s body, looking at the lightsaber that hung from his utility belt. “You are of the Republic” The droid called, pointing one of its three fingers at them accusingly, “You will die”.

Nexus cursed mentally as more droids pointed their blasters towards them. He saw the Jedi quickly raise his hand in front of him, calling for them not to shoot, “We are no longer soldiers of the Republic” The Jedi called out, “We’ve defected”. Upon thought, he realized that he had betrayed the Republic, and it struck him like an asteroid. He was bred and grown to protect and serve the Republic, but now, he’s gone against it and is even trying to ally himself with the enemy.

When he came out of his thoughts the general was conversing with the droid leader heatedly. “You are a Jedi” The droid stated. “And he is a clone, both of you have sworn your allegiance to the Republic” It deduced rather obviously.

“Times have changed” The Jedi groaned, “And our allegiances have to”.

“Clones do not betray the Republic,” The droid said, “Therefore, this is a lie”.

The man looked about ready to smash his head into the wall at the droid’s stubbornness. They didn’t have any proof that they were no longer a part of the Republic, that the Chancellor had declared the Jedi traitors and enemies of the Republic. Realization struck at that thought, “The Chancellor has declared the Jedi as enemies of the Republic” He interrupted suddenly.

“You have no proof to back this claim,” The droid said backing off as the other droids rushed forwards.

“Check the Holonet if you don’t believe me” He challenged, “This would be a large story, and undoubtedly will be discussed over all public channels”. The tactical droid stopped suddenly and faced a droid that had taken a position up at the comm terminal.

With a few presses at the console a projector activated, casting the area with a blue light. Displayed was a humanoid woman with a sabacc face that even a Jedi would have difficulty reading, she was reporting on new policies that had already been set up by the new Empire. Gone was the Republic that had stood for over two thousand years and gone were the Jedi that had stood by its side the entire time, replaced with an Empire led by the old chancellor.

The droid started quickly flipping through all of the channels, searching to find any sign of the supposed betrayal of the Jedi. It stopped on a channel at the raise of its commander’s three-fingered hand. “In recent news, the Jedi temple and the insurgents inside have been executed for their crimes against the Empire as their plan to take power of the Republic had failed” The reporter announced as if they were just reporting the weather.

The view of the reporter changed to show videos of the Jedi temple, it’s five towers set aflame and other various fires spread across its structure. It changed to a ground view recording, probably taken from a trooper's helmet, that showed the destruction wrought upon the temple. Its walls were scored with marks from blasters and lightsabers, and one of the many bronze statues had collapsed, laying in pieces on the ground.

He heard something of a sob as it showed the trooper running past corpses, some were old and some were young, too young to already have died. The trooper scurried onwards as he tried to assist a group of clones surrounding and trying to take down one of the many temple guards slashing his blade and deflecting bolts back to their sources. It wasn’t until he was completely encircled where he fell to a series of blaster bolts hit his back. He fell to the ground, the impact knocking off his mask revealing an aged face with copper-colored hair speckled with gray.

Suddenly there was a sound of glass shattering and sparks as the projector system caved in on itself, crushed by some invisible force. He turned to his Jedi, he was glaring at the pile of scrap sparking on the ground as if it was the thing personally responsible for the death of his order, a trail had made its way from his eye down his face. The droids raised their blasters back up to the Jedi quickly at the destruction.

“We have confirmed that the footage is not forged” the Commander voiced causing the droids to stand down. “Welcome to the Separatist Alliance,” it said, signaling for the droids to escort them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any feedback, or even, a kuuudo. Sorry, drooled a bit there. Again, thanks for reading and see you all on Thursday.


	4. No Rest for the Weary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when the two think they can lie down and rest after their daring escape, the universe just seems to have to prove them wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER!!!!! I hope you're all enjoying this so far because I don't plan on stopping this anytime soon *Maniacal Laughing*. Seriously though, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

He couldn’t believe that they were gone, his mind replaying the events of the temple raid on a loop. The grief he felt at seeing the younglings dead on the floor, shot by the very people they were supposed to trust. That didn’t even compare to the surge of emotions when the guard fell. They were always in the temple standing still, always ready to defend the inhabitants, but then the mask fell off and his control was lost in the flood of emotions.

He hadn’t even registered the crushing of the projector as he was blinded by anger and grief. He hadn’t realized that he was sat down, or that he had moved at all until he felt something jammed into the skin of his right arm. He looked around for the source, noting the needle that was unloading its contents into his blood as a medical droid pressed down on it.

Another droid pulled off the chest plate of his armor, exposing the bloody undersuit below. Carefully it cut the fabric around the shoulder to reveal the injured shoulder. As the droids worked on his injuries he noticed Nexus sitting on the next cot over. He was staring at a datapad, occasionally swiping down on it.

Another med-droid crossed the room towards Nexus, grabbing his arm and pulling it closer. He quickly pulled his arm back and swatted the droid away. The droid was heading towards his cot and Nexus glared at its back while it walked away.

“What is wrong with your clone” The droid droned in its mechanized voice as it neared him.

“What” He responded questioningly.

“Your soldier is a clone, correct,” It asked, getting a nod, “Your clone is too pale to be at optimal health, what ails him”. He couldn’t hold out the laughter that escaped him, it was just such a straightforward question that only a droid would ask this casually.

“Nothing is wrong with me” Nexus answered with a deceptive calm, “I’m pale, I get it”. Judging by his reaction it was safe to assume that he got that question a lot, which got another laugh out of him.

“Nothing’s wrong with him” he answered, “There’s a rare mutation in his DNA that caused his body to produce little pigment” He explained to the medical droid patiently as it started to record this in a datapad, “That’s why he has a pale complexion”.

“Your compliance is appreciated” The droid thanked in a way that only a droid could, “It has been recorded that the clone is albino”. The droid turned around, walking to a shelf in the wall where it grabbed a metallic tube. “Take one of these each standard day” It ordered cryptically, “And come back when it is empty”.

Nexus looked between the bottle and droid questioningly, “What are these” He asked before the droid could leave. It didn’t even look up from the datapad as it responded.

“Records show that albinos may have difficulties absorbing calcium” It explained slowly, “Resulting in a weak skeletal structure”. Nexus almost looked startled at the droid’s thorough examination, “To solve this you are prescribed to take one tablet daily”.

The droid walked away before it could be asked any more questions, leaving a surprised clone in its wake. “Your injuries have been treated” One of the droids near him notified, “Your shoulder will recover within the week, but your hand will require longer”.

“While your injuries heal you are not to do strenuous activities and are required to take an escort to assist you during your recovery” The droid ordered as it turned and left, the other one following close behind. He saw Nexus move in the corner of his eye and turned to find him staring.

“Are you alright sir?” He asked quietly.

“I’ll be fine” He responded nodding his head towards his shoulder, “Those droids patched me up real well, they’d give the temple healers a run for their credits”. Mentioning them was a mistake he realized as he felt the pain of loss and grief wash over him.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it sir” Nexus replied sternly. Nexus was not going to take any of his bantha fodder today.

“I’ll be fine” He replied again. Nexus glare at him in what could have been disappointment, “Given time I will be” He clarified, “But if we want to make it through this alive, grieving will have to wait”.

Nexus sighed, pushing himself back onto the cot and dropping on it dramatically. There was a moment of much-needed silence before the door swooshed open and interrupted it. “We have confirmed that the General has indeed perished” Came the low mechanized voice of the tactical droid.

“And I assume that the rest of the droid army has been deactivated” He replied as he dragged himself into a sitting up.

“You assume correct” the droid responded, “I suggest that we attempt to strengthen our numbers to better combat the fledgling Empire”. The droid wasn’t just suggesting it, no matter what it said. He was only told so that they could compare information.

“If the army is deactivated they probably won’t send very many ships to deal with them,” Nexus said as he stared at the white ceiling, “ Probably a cruiser or two to tug them for recycling”. He seemed reluctant to say anything more helpful than that, which made sense, he was still a clone and every ship destroyed was another brother killed.

“We can help you disable any ships that come our way,” He told the droid, “But engaging them head-on is not an option”. The droid looked at him suddenly and walked closer, almost like a predator would to cornered prey.

“I am in command,” It said in a stern tone, “I will make the orders and you will obey”. Nexus let out a full blown laugh from off to the side, drawing the attention of him and the droid.

“We’re organics” He gasped between laughs, “We weren’t programmed to blindly follow orders, especially orders from a droid”. The droid turned on the clone raising a finger to the hysteric clone.

“Did your clones not slaughter the Jedi without a single thought?” It asked harshly. The clone stopped laughing and just glared at the droid, he looked like he wanted to say something, but there was nothing to say.

“This is not a time to argue,” He said as he focused his gaze on the two, “Nexus, the Commander here has been generous to allow us onto his ship and supply us with medical attention” He scolded, and the tactical droid let out a burst of mechanized laughter. “But” The droid suddenly stopped laughing as he spoke, “You can’t keep fighting like you have unlimited resources, times have changed and you have lost your droid factories and shipyards, so we have to fight smarter”.

The droid paused entirely, calculating chances and odds of long-term engagement, hopefully. “Your assessment of the situation stands true” The droid confirmed as it backed away from the clone trooper, “We will be exiting hyperspace in as little as a day, you will be taken to quarters where you will stay”.

Nexus got up quickly and walked over to help him stand, walking out of the med bay with the droid staring at them as they left. A droid was out in the hall waiting for them and with a nod, led them forwards. It was a short walk to their rooms. Upon entering it was barely furnished with little more than a bed, couch and low table and was the same gray as the rest of the ship.

The droid left as soon as they stepped in and the door shut behind them. Nexus walked over to the couch and lowered himself onto it. “This is cozy,” He said as he sat on the other side of the couch. It was probably as good as rooms get on ships crewed by droids.

“Roomier than the barracks back on our ship” Nexus commented as he looked around. He hadn’t seen the crew quarters very much but knew that they were shared between the squad that inhabited it. Nexus coughed into his fist, breaking the silence that had arisen in his thoughts and grabbing his attention.

“Who was that in the holovid,” Nexus asked quickly, obviously nervous. He sighed as the scene flashed through his mind, it was horrible to watch, seeing the mangled corpses of the order. Nexus realized how personal the question was and was about to speak before he was stopped.

“That was a friend of mine during my years of training in the temple” He replied, he probably was too close to the temple guard then was supposed to be allowed for them. “His name was Aedi Le’em, he was always around for me and a mentor I could always rely on”. He had always been there for him, always somewhere in the background. 

“I’m sorry,” Nexus said, “I-” he held his hand up to silence him. There was a moment of pause where they just looked at each other. “If you ever need anyone to talk to you know where to find me,” He said as he stood up and walked towards the door. It closed as he left and he was left alone to the silence of the room and darkness of his thoughts.

* * *

He had just eased into the welcome darkness of sleep when there was a chime from the door. He sighed as he dragged himself off the bed and to the door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The door slid open to show the beige, skeletal body of a battle droid standing idly by the door. 

“We are approaching the last known coordinates of a droid convoy, the Admiral wants you to be ready to board the lead ship when we arrive,” The droid said, it stayed still for a little longer before awkwardly looking around. The droid walked off and walked towards the Generals room.

“Don’t go in there,” He told the droid, who just turned to him in confusion, “He’s going through a rough patch, might help to see a familiar face”. The droid raised its hand in protest, “One that he hasn’t been fighting against for the past three years”. The droid simply nodded it’s reply and walked off to wherever it came from.

He quickly pressed the door chime, getting no response from the man inside. The General was usually pretty good with being at his door when a trooper came by for him, but his life had gotten more difficult, it wasn’t a surprise. He let himself in and was startled as something green flew past him, nearly taking off his head.

On second glance he realized it was a lightsaber, the General’s, now caught between the closing door and its frame. He slowly reached out, taking the metal hilt into his hand and pulled it out from where it was lodged. “Sorry about that” He heard the Jedi call from where he was sitting on the bed.

A loud clang sounded throughout the room as furniture he hadn’t noticed was floating dropped to the ground. He heard from COs sheltered near the General’s quarters often experienced moments where anything not bolted down would just start levitating in the middle of the ship’s night, causing many a mess of the few personal belongings they had.

“No problem” He assured with a dismissive wave of his hand, “But if I get woken up in the middle of the night because someone lifted everything in my room a meter off the ground” He warned, glaring at the Jedi, “You’re going to have to find a new lackey”.

The Jedi laughed briefly as he rose from the bed, “Seems that I can’t go anywhere without the neighbors complaining about that” He joked. “But I don’t think that’s why you’re here,” he said in a more serious tone.

“The droids are almost to their first destination,” He said as he led the Jedi out of the room, the halls were a hazard as droids rushed to their battle stations. If they were going in the right direction they would reach the large fly through hangar bay where they would be able to board a shuttle.

“Why are they sending us on the boarding party though,” He asked in an appalled tone at realizing what they were doing. “You can’t use your arm and your hand is injured” He explained to no one who didn’t already know.

“Probably want someone closer to the action to give out orders” the Jedi suggested with a shrug of his uninjured shoulder, “Droids aren’t the best independent thinkers”. He chuckled as the hangar doors opened.

The hangar was in chaos. There were droids feuling and prepping vulture droids for launch and others were boarding assault craft, all in all, it looked like they were planning an invasion. Why would they need so many attack craft.

The Jedi knocked his armored arm with his elbow and nodded towards a droid walking in their direction. Getting the idea he reached out, grabbing the droid’s thin arm as it passed him. It stopped and looked over to them as it was disturbed from its work, “What’s going on in here” He asked sternly as the droid stared at him.

“The Commander has ordered the fleet to prepare for a full attack” The droid explained, trying to tug its arm free. He glanced at the Jedi who was looking over at him. This was not what was supposed to happen, his brain repeated as the ship shook with the exit from hyperspace.

“An attack on the Republic fleet over Cato Neimoidia” The droid clarified, “We’re to reinforce the southern hemisphere”. The droid pulled its arm free and continued on with its job, leaving the men in shock.

“What are they doing” He groaned as he tried to recompose himself, it looked like the general was trying to do the same. The general shrugged quickly before getting this look on his face like he had been shot in the back and turned around to see the hangar doors open to reveal the rolling circular forms of destroyer droids.

They were uncurling as the Jedi grabbed for his lightsaber, quickly realizing that he wouldn’t be able to use it well and dropping his hands to his side. He reluctantly followed the Jedi's lead and raised his open hands into the air, they were beat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations on making it to the end. I'm sorry that the droid part goes by really quickly, but the next part will be mostly better, at least I hope you guys will think so. Leave comments, constructive criticism and perhaps a kudo if you really liked it, and see you all next week.


	5. Back on the Road, or, Hyperspace Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In short, droids are dumb, and Nexus and Karem just can't get a break because the Force is a jerk.

They were lead back to the bridge of the ship, where they met with the awaiting commander. It stood in front of the large viewport, staring at the blue and white world now blockaded by Republic star destroyers. The commander suddenly turned to them, it’s yellow photoreceptors scrutinizing them in its glare.

A team of light cruisers zoomed towards them and opened fire as they came into range. Their turbolasers and laser cannons were pelting the shields of the ship. The tactical droid waved its hand to a droid, the droid nodding and tapping at its control panel. A screen’s display started fluctuating behind them as the droid walked back to face it, the face of a Republic admiral.

“We have captured one of your Generals and his soldier” it started bluntly, “if you want to see them live another day, you will order all Republic forces to leave the system”. The droid paused for a moment in what probably wasn’t meant for dramatic effect. “Once you leave the system we shall send them off in a shuttle”

The admiral let out a short bark of laughter before ending the call abruptly. The tactical droid was still for a long moment, droids all around the bridge looking towards it for further orders, this was not the reaction they expected.

The droid turned to them, “What has just occurred” it asked gravely. It stared at them and grabbed Nexus by the arms very suddenly, “You will answer” it practically screamed in its programmed calm. 

He stood forward and pushed the droid off of his companion, trying not to further escalate the situation. “We told you exactly what happened to us and you didn’t listen” He explained calmly, “You went against all of the evidence and decided to attack, it’s all you were programmed for”.

The droid looked at him longer, the staring match only interrupted by the ship shaking from a barrage of turbolaser fire. The droids scrambled back to whatever they were doing, quickly returning volley after volley of colored bolts. The tactical droid resumed its post and started doling out orders to scramble the fighters.

Now was the time to escape, he decided while everyone was distracted. He elbowed Nexus and motioned for the doorway behind them. He caught on quickly and started moving slowly to the door, the droids were none the wiser as the door sealed shut.

“Grab my lightsaber,” He said, causing Nexus to turn on him.

“What” He gasped, his look of surprise answered with a look of seriousness.

“Grab my lightsaber,” he said again quickly, “We need to seal the door”. Nexus understood, his face shifting to one of understanding, as he grabbed the lightsaber off of the utility belt. He held it up, fumbling with it before finding the activator, the green blade extended from the weapon and it was quickly slammed through the control panel. Not perfect, but it would do.

They flat out sprinted towards the hangar deck, encountering no resistance, or hadn’t until they ran into a group of droids standing around the next turn with their blasters raised. This time he moved his injured hand in front of him and the droids flew backward, landing in a broken heap on the ground. Nexus grabbed one of the fallen droid’s blaster and the running continued.

They were nearing the hangar bay when the ship when it started shaking violently, sending the both of them to the ground. “What is that,” Nexus asked as the blast door in front of them started to seal itself. The corridor groaned as the nose of a ship tore through it, the breach quickly depressurizing the hallway.

“Found the problem” He yelled as they were ripped off the ground by the sudden vacuum. Nexus grabbed onto a pipe on the wall, grabbing him as he did, pain flared up in his injured shoulder. As soon as the blast door sealed itself they dropped to the ground and he groaned as Nexus helped him up.

“Looks like we’ll have to take a long way” Nexus groaned looking at the sealed blast door. They hurried off in another direction, increasing their pace. That was the nose of the fleet’s Recusant cruiser which meant the droids were losing, and this ship wouldn’t last much longer.

The hangar wasn’t actually too far from where they were and they reached it in a short amount of time. They quickly made their way through it and found the shuttle they came in on, the only problem was that a destroyer droid had parked itself right in the doorway.

It was too late to stop their sprinting, their momentum carrying them forwards. The droid recoiled slightly as it realized they weren’t going to stop before launching a few poorly aimed shots. It tried to roll away at the last minute but was too slow. Nexus slammed into the droid, the shield only designed to protect from blasters and small debris. It was fumbling on the ground, trying to regain its footing, Nexus was dazed somewhere off to the side. He held his hand out and the droid went flying into the ship, sparking as it crashed into a crate.

He helped the dazed clone into the ship, sitting him down in the co-pilot’s seat as he jumped to start up the ship. They had gotten to the ship in the nic of time, for as they lifted off of the large ship around them started collapsing under the increasing pressure from the attacking cruisers. He pulled the ship out of the hangar as fast as it would go, trying to get as far away as possible.

He started putting in hyperspace calculations to go anywhere, but they would take, time that he didn’t have as fighters were on his tail. His piloting skills weren’t as good as he would have liked in this situation, and it didn’t help that the ship had no weapons.

“They’re closing on us” Nexus warned as he stared at the scanners, “Get us into hyperspace”. He glanced down at the navicomputer, still blinking away as it calculated the jump. This was going to take a while.

“The computer needs more time to calculate” He yelled as the ship was hit by laser fire.

“Too bad” Nexus said as he slammed the activator button. The space around them bled blue and white as realspace faded into hyperspace. Alarms were blaring as the uncalculated jump started.

He pressed at the controls, silencing the alarms around them, before turning to Nexus, “What a day”.

* * *

 

They had taken shifts of sleeping and making sure that the ship didn’t collide with any cosmic bodies like stars or black holes. It was his shift when the console started beeping and flashing a warning. He groaned as the ship dropped out of hyperspace and the ship started to darken.

The loss of activity must have been noticed by the General, who woke with a start. “What happened,” he asked tiredly, repositioning himself in his seat to see the darkened panels and displays.

“We’re low on fuel” He answered earning a similar groan from the Jedi who was now looking closely at his displays. He followed, looking at the maps to figure out where they are and where the closest fuel depot was

“There seems to be something heading toward us,” the Jedi says as the scanners ping, “Can’t tell what it is, but it’s coming towards us”. He had his gaze focused on the ship that was in front of them, it was only a speck in the distance but it was ever growing as it moved closer.

He fell from his seat at the sudden crackling of the comm unit. The voice was masculine and accented, from where he couldn’t tell. “You are trespassing in Zygerrian space, transmit clearance codes or prepare to be boarded” He ordered, the ship was now close enough to tell it was an angular freighter with engine pods attached to short wings.

“That’s not good,” he said as it closed in on them, the ship turning to align its docking port to their aft. It attached to them, the ship shuddering as they did. He signaled for the Jedi to follow him and the two of them went back into the hold to meet their guest. He stopped at one of the crates and pulled out one of the blasters it.

The door was pounded on from the other side and he walked past the broken destroyer droid to press the doors access panel. It slid open and they were met by a broad Zygerrian pointing a blaster at him, followed by three others who copied him.

The standoff was tense, neither party lowering their blasters and none of them showing any sign of doing so anytime soon. “What are you supposed to be whitey,” The lead Zygerrian asked gruffly. He glared at the man in anger, “My name” He said loudly in rage, “Is Nexus you blasted slaver”.

His view of the man is quickly blocked by the General standing in front of him, ever the diplomat, and trying to explain their situation. The Zygerrian did not seem to interested as he shot the Jedi. He fired off a shot that clipped the shoulder of one Zygerrian before being shot himself. There was a searing pain all over his torso as he crumpled to the floor.

The Zygerrian bent down, grabbing his chin and lifting it roughly to look at his face. “I reckon I can get quite the sum of credits for you” He smirked, “Not to mention the enjoyment of breaking you”. With another shot to the chest, his vision gave into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect another chapter tomorrow since May the 4th was on Saturday and I didn't do anything even though I meant to. Unfortunately, after the next few updates will slow down until I have enough written to post. I have been working on this story since mid-2017 on Google drive and have just been posting what I have. Comment if you want me to continue posting this here and if you guys (30 some odd people) have been enjoying this.


	6. Going. Going. Going. Captured, Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, out of the pot and into the fire, their lives weren't difficult enough before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, sorry. I don't know why I do this to you guys, kind of cruel honestly, but I post what makes the most sense in my opinion. Anywho, I hope you enjoy!

When he woke there were magnetic cuffs clamped tightly on his wrists. Looking around he found a dark room with only the saddest looking cot he had ever seen. The only light in the room was bleeding through the bars of his cell.

Someone groaned from across the hallway, where there was another cell with a person. He let out a sigh of relief upon recognizing the Jedi behind the opposing bars. “Why can’t we just run without being captured” The Jedi groaned out as he got to his feet.

He followed the Jedi's lead and stood up as well walking closer to the bars to make communication easier. “Well where’s the fun in that” He replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. The general seemed about to respond when a door opened and the larger Zygerrian entered the brig.

“Welcome aboard,” He said with a smirk, “I was wondering when you would both wake up”. His tone wasn’t one of concern but one more akin to annoyance.

“Glad we won’t be too much of a burden for you anymore” the general quipped, “Wouldn’t want you to bend over backward for us”. The Zygerrian only laughed at the Jedi.

“On the contrary, you will make me quite rich” He responded cruelly, “It is not often we find slaves of your caliber, not after the Separatists came”. He laced anger into the name of the now fallen regime. He turned suddenly and walked out through the now closing door.

There was a moment of silence between the two before the door opened as another one of the feline slavers entered the brig. This one was thinner than the rest, but not by much, and had darker splotches covering his face and arms. He was carrying two bowls that he passed onto his prisoners.

He looked at the food and only had one word for it, gross, it was a white, milky liquid with off-white chunks floating in it. Taking a sip of it he almost gagged at the soured taste, even the Republic fed their prisoners better. 

He looked up to the General, who took his food with dignity, nodding to the Zygerrian, who was quickly turning around towards the door. “What’s your story” he heard the Jedi call, almost compassionately. He couldn’t quite understand why the Jedi would care about their imprisoner, but it wasn’t his place to question his leaders, he was just a soldier.

“Why would you care” he called back defensively, turning his head back. The Jedi let out a sad chuckle.

“Because I can see you’re in pain” He clarified, “You don’t hold yourself the same way the others do”. He couldn’t tell the difference between how he held himself, clones only knew how to read their fellow clones and the higher-ups often learned quickly to read their Jedi generals, let’s just say he can read his general as well as he can droid programming.

“Pain and anger radiate off of you” The Jedi continued, “I’m surprised at how well you hide it from others”. The man turned his head back towards the door as he rushed through it.

“What was that,” He asked the Jedi in surprise. He couldn’t understand any of his motives now, making nice with their captors.

The Jedi looked at him for a moment in what could have been disappointment. “You must remember to keep an open mind,” The Jedi said calmly as he sat cross-legged on his cot, “An open mind allows you to see what most couldn’t”.

“Like what” He deadpanned disapprovingly, the Jedi were great with philosophy but they were sorely lacking in proper military procedure. The Jedi pointed towards an intersection just past their cells, there was an intersection there, but what lied past was obscured by the cells. “What about it,” He asked, this was starting to annoy him real quick.

“This is a cargo hold” he clarified, “That ‘wall’ is actually a group of crates”. The Jedi had his eyes closed as his hand pointed vaguely to the end of the hallway.

He looked in the direction the Jedi was pointing towards, noticing for the first time how there were small gaps every so often and noticed the control panels for the magnetic latches. He still didn’t fully understand what he was getting at,“What does that have to do with the Zygerrian”.

The Jedi only opened his eyes and shot him a smirk before resuming his meditation. He sighed in exasperation before falling on his back and glaring at the dull metal plates above him, this was going to be a very long ride.

* * *

When he exited the hold he was met with the scowling face of the captain. “What were you doing,” He asked in a seething calm. He was never easy to please, but angering him was an entirely different story, and it wasn’t safe to upset him.

He drew his attention quickly to the floor, direct eye contact would only act as a catalyst. “I was delivering the prisoners’ food” he answered hesitantly, feeling the sneer on the captain’s face deepen, “Just as you had told me”.

His chin was grabbed and he was forced to look into the angry eyes of the man in front of him. “Do not fraternize with the merchandise” He practically yelled causing him to flinch back, only held in place by the hand that grasped him, “You’re lucky mechanics are hard to find as cheap as you, boy”.

The captain gave one more sneer before throwing me to the floor, turning down one of the intersecting hallways. He lifted himself up and continued on back to the ship currently attached to theirs. It was a standard CIS cargo shuttle, no weapons, decent shielding, slow realspace speed and an average hyperdrive, really nothing to brag about. It was his job to pull out anything that might make a profit.

The door was blocked by one of the captain’s lackeys, blaster held angled down at the floor, glowering at the wall in front of him. The guard stepped to the side at his approaching footsteps, allowing him entrance. “Hope you weren’t planning on taking that ship for a joy ride” He heard the guard call from behind him.

“Wasn’t planning on it” he hollered back holding up his arm to show off the wide metallic band that clamped around it, “Wouldn’t get very far with this shock band on”. The comment evoked a short laugh from the guard, he just grimaced at his own cruel joke.

He walked to the nearest cargo crate, avoiding the sparking droid lying on the ground, quickly scanning its content roster. The first held nothing but spare parts and equipment for repairing starships, useful for fixing up the ship but not much else. Many of the next few containers held the same equipment, but there were a few military grade shield generators that would make some quick money.

Looking at his chrono he realized just how late it was getting, he still had to purge the water recycler’s filters before the system clogged up. He rushed past the last few rows of crates quickly checking them over before heading on to the next few, all the same, power converters and power cells. When he finished he walked back towards the door, looking over his datapad, when he lost his footing. Failing to catch himself he collided with the floor, his datapad clacking to the floor somewhere ahead of him.

Groaning, he sat up looking for whatever caused the stumble. He caught something in the corner of his eye, a lighter gray than the rest of the ship. It was a silver tube of metal, smooth save for the few buttons and cut-outs on its body. He picked it up cautiously, whatever it was could not have been good, it had a similar look to the energy whips used by slavers on Zygerria. He spun it in his hand slowly, admiring the craftsmanship of the tube. He spun it around again to see what could have been the activation button. He held his thumb over the button, the desire to push it was strong.

“Hey, Zephyr” Someone shouted from the connected doorways, “The water systems are backed up”. He groaned as he stood from his place on the floor, this was going to be an all-nighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, critique and if you're feeling generous leave a kudo. Until tomorrow, I bid thee good day!


	7. No Rest Even in Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visions of the future and of the departed haunt him, but is it worse than his reality, or are they one in the same?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This so far has been one of my favorite parts to write and I hope you all enjoy it.

“Karem” A man shouted. It sounded muffled, as if from far away, “Wake up”.

He startled awake in his darkened quarters in the Jedi temple. Looking around he saw a narrow window, but from his angle couldn’t see what was outside. There was a narrow door on the opposite wall and a low table with his lightsaber sitting on it. The wall between them was bare with the exception of a wardrobe.

He stood and walked to the window. The sleepless city was darkened, all of its bright, neon lights were off. It was eerily similar to when the power generator had been attacked, it sent a shiver down his spine and set off more than one mental alarm. He turned around, walking quietly to the door that opened as he neared it, and pulled his lightsaber into his grasp.

Outside lay the large grandiose halls that made up the Jedi temple, empty like they’ve never been before. “Hello” he called out, looking to either side to see if there was someone there. He stepped out cautiously, all of the alarms in his head had been tripped when no one replied.

He reached the end when he saw a shadow creep towards him slowly from around the corner. “Who’s there” He questioned as he quickly rounded the corner. He stopped, dead in his tracks, at the shadow-cloaked figure standing before him. Once he had laid his eyes on them the temperature dropped and there was such a powerful spike of fear in him that he instinctively activated his emerald blade.

The shadow reached its hand out in a fist. Two crimson blades came out from either side of its fist. It leaped towards him, the blades spinning faster than his eye could track, and slashed down on him. He barely managed to pull his lightsaber up in time to block the first attack, their blades locked as the shadow tried to push him back, the heat from the blade stinging his eyes.

The shadow leaned its head closer, causing his fear to spike again as it drew nearer, and the temperature only decreased further. He was quickly losing ground, taking steps back to get away from the monster in front of him, and he found himself back himself to a wall. The shadow jumped back and he lost his footing when the pressure was relieved. He fell to the ground, trying to use the wall to stand back up. He wouldn’t make it, he realized as the shadow neared him. It jumped up, its lightsaber held to impale him upon landing. He closed his eyes, there is no death, only the force, and took a breath to recompose himself.

He waited for the blow to come, the sudden warmth increasing, but felt nothing. No pain, no searing heat cut through him, only the warmth that started to envelop him. He opened his eyes when a hand gently touched his forehead. He gasped at the tall figure before him, his gray-flecked ginger hair pressed down by a mask on top of his head and his kind face smiling down at him.

“Aedi” he gasped at the sight of the man. The man reached down with an open hand, which he quickly accepted, and pulled him back to his feet. “What was that thing,” he asked quickly, “Where is everyone, and why is the power off”. The questions were rapidly fired at the aged man.

His smile darkened quickly, the cold returning to the area in floods. “That my young friend was a representation of what is to come” he sighed, his age finally breaking through his young veneer, “Dark times lie ahead for you, and I regret that I will not be there to help you through it”.

The older man led him through the empty halls of the temple, as they moved through them the pristine walls were showing blackened areas from blasters and scores in the floors and walls where lightsabers had cut through them. The further they walked, the more the halls were littered with battle damage.

They stepped into a turbo lift, the former guardsman pressing the controls to go up. “Tell me then” he started breaking the silence that had settled over them while walking through the scarred temple, “Where must I go? What do I have to do”. The temple had been his home for as long as he could remember, but now it was gone, and he had nothing.

“Survive” the man answered simply. He opened his mouth to protest when the lift door opened and the elder Jedi walked out. He followed quickly, almost colliding when Aedi stopped suddenly.

He nearly cried out at the scene in front of him. They were standing in the mostly intact meeting place of the council, young corpses littered the floor. He rushed over to the nearest, kneeling on the floor and pulling her head into his lap. The girl looked barely in her double digits, not even old enough to have taken part in the war. Her robes had a black line in it from what could have only been a lightsaber, the killing blow, and a second look showed that the rest of the children had been cut down in similar fashions.

His eyes burned with anger and grief, these were just children. They were innocent, untouched by the war, they deserved better than this. “Who could have done something so-so” he was too grief-stricken to find the right words.

“These are the acts of the dark side” Aedi explained solemnly, “It is the actions of those who have been twisted and warped by loss and power”. The room fell into a dark silence, growing colder the longer it drew on.

He walked towards the large windows, unable to stomach the dead children lying on the floor. Now, there weren’t any lights shining in the city below, its dark streets were suddenly crawling with the shadow figures. The silence was interrupted by a low rumbling hum, at first quiet but quickly growing louder. He saw specs in the distance growing larger as they headed in the direction of the temple.

As they got closer the older Jedi seemed to pick up on the sound, rushing over to the window to see the approaching vessels. “It’s time for you to go” He called quickly, grabbing his shoulders, his face twisted into a deep scowl.

“When the time is right, go to Velmor” he instructed. He turned his head back to the window, the vessels had gotten close enough to recognize the box shape of Coruscant police gunships. “On your way, you will encounter many difficulties, you must persevere, if you can’t” he paused, his face frozen in a look of fear and worry. He seemed to settle on something to say as his face fell into gentle fondness, “You will be broken in the trials ahead, but they will only strengthen you”.

The gunships were so near now that he could see the pilots sitting in the cockpits. “How will I know when the time is right?” He asked fastly as the man pushed him towards the lift, the gunships slowing to a stop with a sizable gap between them and the council spire.

The older Jedi let him turn around, studying his face intensely before answering, “You will know, I have made sure of it”. He released the younger Jedi with a sigh, “I’m sorry I couldn’t have taken you myself, I have failed you there, but I can still make sure that you make it in the end”.

The spire shook abruptly, nearly knocking the two down. “It’s time for you to go, my young friend” With an outstretched hand he flew back into the open lift. “This is last you will see of me for quite some time, so, may the force be with you Karem Otel”. The window shattered and a group of shadows was dispatched from a gunship, their crimson blades extending in a flash.

The old Jedi pulled down his mask, it’s neutral details hiding the determination on his face that radiated from him in the force. He dropped to a combat stance and held a hand in front and behind him. Flicking the rear hand down caused the door to slowly close, his last views of the man were tinted with the horror and fear as he engaged the shadows. The elevator started its descent as soon as the doors closed, making its way down at a leisurely pace. He picked himself up off of the floor with a shaky breath. He stared at the door waiting for it to open for the guard, but it never came, replaced by the shaking of the lift and the feeling of free fall.

The g-forces made his stomach flip as he fell further and further towards his death. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end when he crashed to the ground. When it came he jolted upright, gasping for air. His lungs burned as if he had run a marathon while holding his breath, his forehead wet with a cold sweat.

When he wasn’t panting as hard and his heart stopped pounding in his head, he looked around, confusedly taking in the details of the small cell he was in. The past few days hit him like a landspeeder, the clone’s betrayal, finding the droids, their betrayal and finally their being captured by slavers. This week had just been ridiculous he mused when the door opened.

It was their captor, flanked by two armed crewmen. “Which one of you is the Jedi?” He yelled harshly, his face a clear portrait of anger. He looked towards the Jedi and signaled for one of the guards to open the door. As soon as it opened the large Zygerrian was in the cell, holding the Jedi up while snarling wildly.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you right now” He ordered loudly, the anger in his voice only second to the hatred.

“The Republic would pay you very well if you were to release me to them” He offered hopping the bluff would hold. The Zygerrian laughed coldly and it was then he realized the bluff hadn’t worked.

“The only thing they’d do is shoot us as soon as they knew we had a Jedi on board” He retorted, “Why let them kill you and us when I could do it myself and live”.

He saw Nexus shoot up off of his bunk. The clone launched himself towards the bars and started shouting at the slavers. “Kill me instead” He offered, his face showing concern, “Just leave him alone”.

“Nexus” he pleaded as the slavers turned on him, “Don’t do this”. The clone ignored him, keeping his eyes on the now amused slaver.

“Oh, no no no,” He said, dropping him to the cold ground. He turned towards the cell and stared at the pale clone in malice. “My clients would pay very highly for something like you, a clone can do the work of five other slaves, not to mention your condition makes you all the rarer”.

If Nexus could have gotten paler, it was at the mention of his albinism. It singled him out in an army of nearly identical soldiers, attracting unwanted attention from everybody that saw. He pushed himself off the ground, moving towards the door to get to the clone when one guard slammed the butt of his blaster into his gut. He doubled over from the flaring pain and sudden lack of breath. When he tried to get up he was met with a sudden pain and the sound of metal slamming into his skull.

He crumpled to the ground in a heap, his last experience before losing to unconsciousness was of a blurry Nexus standing before the slaver boldly as an orange glowing rope was swung towards him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if the Force wills it and make sure criticism is constructive, and a kudo would be much appreciated. Enjoy your evening.


	8. Freedom at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is like fishing, you get captured by people who want to sell or kill you, and if you're lucky you might just escape with fewer injuries than you expected. Less like fishing and more like being a fish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, there wasn't a chapter earlier in the week, I promise to have one up tomorrow, it will be as certain as these guys being captured a few more times before I am done with them.

He watched as the Jedi crumpled to the floor, relieved that at least he was still breathing. His attention was drawn back to the slaver when he heard a click. In his hand was a dull bronze hilt that flared at the end, it appeared similar to a lightsaber, but he knew it was worse.

He flinched slightly as it was activated, the high whine of the orange energy snaking out of the hilt and coiling on the floor. “Time for your first lesson,” the slaver said with a cruel smile. He swung his arm forward, the orange energy following the movement and whipping through the air. He felt himself go down to one knee when the whip struck him. At first, it was a sharp pain from the whip, but it changed instantly, the pain spreading as the electricity surged through his body. His muscles tensed and spasmed, his jaw was clamped down so tightly he didn’t doubt that it wouldn’t take too much more pressure to shatter his teeth.

As soon as the pain had started it stopped, the slaver drawing his arm back to whip him again. He exhaled loudly, trying to draw in more air quickly. He wouldn’t die from this, he knew, but the whip was created with the idea of inflicting as much pain as possible without causing too much harm. If he weren’t in the middle of trying to catch his breath he would have made some sarcastic remark about complementing the creators for their success.

The blows kept coming for what felt like hours, losing track at ten cracks of electricity against human body. When it ended he was completely out of breath and his body was sore all over from the constant tensing and un-tensing of muscles. His head was pounding when his jaws unlocked from their death grips. He was roughly picked up by the arms by the two guards, limp in their grasps, and was thrown back into his cell.

He heard them laugh as he fell face down on the floor, only groaning as he fell on his nose. When the door hissed shut he moved his arms under him, trying to push up with his sore arms. He released a groan as he raised himself up about an inch or two before his arms gave out and he landed roughly on the side of his face. This was far more difficult than it should be was the only thought coursing through him as he sighed.

He heard the door open again and close as, presumably, someone entered. His cell door opened and he tried to roll over to face the slaver that had entered, only managing to barely pick up his shoulder. “Now what do you want,” He asked as a hand landed on his shoulder, gently pushing him from his stomach onto his back.

“To make sure you aren’t dead or dying” The same Zygerrian who brought their food replied as he opened a med kit sitting on the floor. He rolled his eyes at that, unable to move away as his armor blacks were pulled back, exposing the cuts and bruises across his chest and back to the cold air.

“And why do you care” He hissed as a bacta patch was applied to one of the larger cuts, “Let me guess, damaged merchandise doesn’t pay as well”. The man froze, his indifferent face twisting into a scowl. He grabbed another bacta patch, roughly slapping it onto another patch of cuts and bruises, earning another pained hiss.

“It doesn’t matter how much the Captain makes off of you and your Jedi” Responded responded gravely, “I won’t get a single credit from this”. He stared at the Zygerrian curiously, it wasn’t their way to work with a crew if there was nothing to gain from it. “Although, if he makes enough he might just be in a good enough mood to skip out on the routine beatings, for a while at least” His tone sounded like he was making a joke, his scowl deepened.

Grave humor was something he was good at, with him being bred to die. A realization struck him hard at that moment, like coming out of hyperspace without inertial dampers, “You’re a slave aren’t you”. The question hadn’t seemed to surprise the man, but his silence was enough of an answer.

“You seem to be trusted on this ship, couldn’t you have escaped by now” It was a rather straightforward question, almost rudely so, but it needed an answer. In response the Zygerrian held up his left arm, there was a simple, wide metal band clamped around it.

“Shock band, if triggers it I get a nasty shock” The man answered grimly. Tied to a chain like an animal, only, he wasn’t. “Your injuries should be fine soon enough, just try not to pick any fights,” The slave said as he helped him to the cot.

He watched as the Zygerrian turned his back on him, quickly walking towards the door when he stopped suddenly. He cautiously turned his head back to the clone, “Is” he stuttered, “Is it true that he’s a Jedi”. The question was rushed, as if he were asking a very private question.

“He is” he responded with a small nod, “You wouldn’t believe half the things I’ve seen serving under him, the man’s a maniac. He was always so fierce in his devotion to his troopers, protected us when he could, and when he couldn’t, he grieved with us. There was a time when the whole crew was worried ‘cause he hadn’t slept for nearly three days, rumor has it that someone slipped a sedative in his caff to get him to rest”. He laughed shortly, “Although, I never put much faith in the clone rumor mill since the rumors of General Skywalker in a relationship with Senator Amidala, goes against everything I’ve ever heard about Jedi”.

The Zygerrian was looking downwards slightly, a contemplative look drawn on his face. “The name’s Nexus by the way, so no more of this ‘whitey’ business” The Zygerrian quickly looked up, his thoughts disrupted.

“Zephyr” He responded turning around quickly and walking out the door. His cell door was closed and Zephyr headed for the door. As he walked past the door, a clang of metal hitting metal sounded through the room. Looking in the general direction of the sound he shot up in surprise. Lying on the ground was a smooth round tube with flared ends, the general’s lightsaber.

He sat staring at it, why had the slave had it, when it came to him. The Jedi had probably dropped his lightsaber when he was stunned, left there by the slavers who were busy dragging them to the hold of their ship. “Sir” he called to the cell next to him, his voice urgent, who knows when the ship’s Captain would return. “Sir” he called louder, the Jedi rousing from his forced nap.

“What,” he asked, palming the back of his head, “What’s happening”. The Jedi was probably still dazed from the harsh crack of the blaster against his skull, probably had a concussion at the best.

“We’ve got a way out” He explained pointing out the idle lightsaber. The Jedi reached out his palm, the lightsaber flying to his hand in an instant. He turned it over in his hands, activating it’s emerald blade and slashing at the metal bars. It was cut through instantly, leaving a trail of molten metal behind as the bars fell loudly against the floor. “Hurry, it won’t be long before someone comes to see what that noise was about”, the Jedi closed the distance between the cells, cutting through the bars as easily as before.

As soon as he walked out the door swooshed open, the Jedi rushing to meet it. The man entering jerked to a stop as he felt the heat of the lightsaber near his face. “Oh, it’s you,” the Jedi said as he lowered his lightsaber. It was Zephyr, standing there with a panicked expression on his face.

“If you want to go, we’d better leave now,” Zephyr said urgently, “The ship’s making its approach to Zygerria now, once we land it’ll be too late”. He waved his hand for them to follow him as he sped down the halls.

The run wasn’t long, and as it turned out the crew was small enough to where the only crew members they encountered were at the docking port. Their guns were already pointing at the three, but with an outstretched hand they went flying back into the wall and crumpled to the floor.

They rushed through the ship’s hold and entered the cockpit, the Jedi taking the pilot’s position, Zephyr in communications, and himself as the copilot. Within no time they had finished the preflight checks and were separating themselves from the larger ship. The ship was brought to life, the walls humming as systems were reactivated and the ship was propelled from its own power. He sighed as the larger ship pinged in further away from them, relaxing fully for the first time since they were captured. It would be smooth sailing from here, he thought as the planet grew near.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments or kudos, I enjoy hearing what you guys have to say. Also, I'm using a different computer so there will be plenty of grammatical and spelling errors, I'll get those sorted out as soon as possible.
> 
> I fixed it:)


	9. No Such Thing as a Restful Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Force is a merciless *AHEM* and causes more pain than anyone ever knew they would have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is up! I wished it could have been earlier in the week, but I will do better next week. Enjoy!

Their escape had gone smoothly, no one was attacking them and sensors showed no indication of being followed but something seemed off about it all. It was far to easy for them to escape. It might be paranoia, but it felt as if there was something looming over them, ready to spring at any moment. 

“Where do you plan to go after refueling,” Zephyr asked as he leaned back in his chair. He opened his mouth to answer but he couldn’t think of anything to say, he had no answer to that. He looked over to Nexus, who had turned to him, and shrugged.

“We didn’t have any plans,” was his answer, earning a slight nod from the Zygerrian, “Although we’ll probably be headed further into the outer rim, the Republic doesn’t have too strong of a grip there,”. It was probably the best place to go if he wanted to hide as well since the war hadn’t touched many of the worlds there.

The ship rocked gently as they entered the atmosphere, bringing everyone back into their current situation. “I’m comming in for a fuel hub,” Zephyr said as they broke through the cloud level, “We’ve got coordinates,”. Not a second later and the coordinates showed up on his display as it mapped out a safe path.

The fuel hub was the same sandy brown color as many of the buildings on Zygerria, large enough for many of the freighters delivering cargo and slaves from across the galaxy. The comm chirped on as someone directed them towards an empty lot around the back of the ovular building that overlooked the grassy plains that made up the planet.

As the ship set down on the platform a group of droids moved nearer to the ship. One of the droids held the fuel hose while the others carried over crates and boxes. He rose from his seat as the hose attached to the hull with a dull thud, “I suppose we should go out to get supplies, especially if we plan on long-distance travel,”. He walked through the now open door, Nexus trailing close behind him

“We’ll need money,” Zephyr responded as he stood to his full height of around NUMBER, “And I wouldn’t recommend leaving the ship like that,”. He turned around to see Nexus being held in place by a clawed hand on his shoulder, “Your albinism will draw a lot of attention here, so I wouldn’t go out without something covering your face,”.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” the clone said blankly as he mulled it over in his head. The clone turned to him, his reddish eyes gazing at him seriously, “I’ll stay with the ship sir, no reason to endanger the mission”.

He responded with a quick nod turning back through the door as he did, “Try not to get in too much trouble while we’re gone though,”. He felt the flare of amusement from both Nexus and Zephyr as he walked through the hold. “Do you think we have anything here that could make some credits,” It was, of course, a question to see what could get them the most, the ship was packed with military grade equipment and weapons, all things that the right people would take happily.

“I took the liberty of showing myself around and I think we could make the most money off a commando droid,” Zephyr responded as he grabbed an empty crate and repulsor pallet, “Throw in a few of those E-5s and we should have ourselves a decent sum of credits without drawing too much attention”. He opened up the desired crates and took out at least a dozen blasters and one of the thin, brown droids in question.

The repulsor pallet hummed to life and was pulled along by Zephyr as he guided it down the extended boarding ramp. One of the service droids quickly approached them, a datapad in hand. It kept demanding for them to pay up the total costs of repairs but was easily ignored as they walked through the hub. There was almost no one around save for the crews of other ships refueling and dropping off cargo. Just from the people here, it was easy to see they didn’t fit. Most of them were making use of worn armor and had armed themselves with a multitude of blasters from across the galaxy, they, on the other hand, had no armor nor did they have any weapons, the lightsaber was left behind as many of the inhabitants held a grudge against the Republic for the collapse of their Empire.

“The slave market seems to have crashed since the CIS left” He noted as they received glares from a group of Weequay. One of them braced their hand on the table, pushing themself off the seat. With a discrete wave of his hand the craggy-faced alien ‘tripped’, their companions bursting with drunken laughter.

“That’s something I’d rather not talk about” Zephyr responded grimly as he watched the Weequay’s angered infighting. His tone ended that conversation as quickly as it began and the two fell into an awkward silence. He gazed out over the landscape between the hub and the city. There wasn’t much but the golden, windswept grasslands were calm and serene, more peaceful than most of the worlds he’d ever been on.

“How are we going to travel without any credits,” He asked, the question He asked, the question rousing Zephyr from his dark thoughts. While there wasn’t too much land between them and the inner city, it was longer a walk than he would like to risk.

Zephyr flashed him a toothy grin as he lifted his hands to his mouth. He let out a shrill whistle that forced him to raise a hand to his ear. When it was over he placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head, scanning the sky above the plains. For the first time, he noticed the large creatures circling around the plain, one of them broke off from its circling movement and started descending.

“I thought the Brezak were for use of by the guards and higher-ups,” he gawked as it landed on the ground, its large body kicking up small bits of dust. The large reptile looked down at them expectantly, its steel gray eyes picking him apart.

“There are still some Brezak that are free,” Zephyr responded as he climbed onto the beast. He grabbed onto the offered hand when it came and jumped onto the beasts back, “Before the war my father was charged with caring for them at the palace, learned how to call for them,” Zephyr continued as the beast bounded across the grasslands, its parachute-like skin catching a strong gust of wind that blew the reptile into the air.

He hummed in acknowledgment, taking in the bit of information about the man’s past. The wind blew past them as the reptile glided over the spacious streets of the city, angling upwards when it got too close to the buildings. He leaned forwards as the lizard was prompted to descend and braced himself for the incoming landing. He noticed Zephyr nudge the beast with his heel, the beast turning downwards towards the nearest building top.

The beast hit the smooth roof with a soft thud, the sudden stop jolting the two forward. As soon as they had dismounted the creature dropped their cargo crate and bounded from rooftop to rooftop until it was pulled up by the wind. “So,” Zephyr started as he looked around, “Any idea on how to get down”.

* * *

All was quiet on the ship after the two other occupants had left, only the occasional threat from the hub for payment that was easily dealt with the promise of money. It was pretty great to finally have time to himself, the life of a soldier was not one of solitude, without having to worry for his life or someone else's. But like most things, it wasn’t meant to be.

As he was reclined on the metal seat, his feet propped against the powered down controls he noticed a ship descending from atmosphere, taking its place in front of them as droids rushed to it. He stared at the ship for a while longer before realizing it was the same ship their captors used. He startled out of his seat, he definitely did not fall and slammed the comm terminal.

“Sir,” He yelled as it came to life, “Sir, those slavers are back”. Behind him, he heard the sound of his voice echoing his statement and turned around. On the console sat a communicator, its owner nowhere to be found. He cursed at the absent Jedi as he threw the communicator at the wall, clicking and clacking as it hit the wall and then the floor.

He turned back to the viewport and powered up the ship’s systems in case a quick getaway was needed. He watched as a few of the crew departed, heading towards the hub’s central building when one of them turned and looked directly at the ship. The one crewman was quick to point it out to the rest of the group and they started approaching them.

He panicked, heading back into the cargo hold to grab a blaster, the ship was stuck here until they disconnected the fuel pump that tethered them to the hub. He sealed up the hatch and returned to the cockpit, the Zygerrians were now close enough that he could just make out their feline features. If there really is a force that controls fate, then he might just survive this.

He powered up the shields and hoped for the best as they left his field of view. He went to the rear of the hold, waiting for the intruders to enter the ship. He aimed his gun at the direct center of the door, finger hovering near the trigger. There was a banging on the door that resonated through the metal ship, but it didn’t open.

They must not have seen him in the cockpit he told himself over and over, sighing in relief. That means they’re waiting outside for someone to come back he realized, the others don’t know. He held his position since there was no other way to help the others now, he just had to hope for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please comment and kudo if you wish, I enjoy seeing them when they appear and see you all next week.


	10. A Blast of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another encounter with the Zygerrian slavers, the crew is forced to leave faster than expected. Unfortunately, just like any other day, nothing is ever that simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I have to update the story.  
> Also me: But we have so much to do. Exams are coming up, not like anyone will notice you haven't updated at all.  
> Me: Fine, but I'll update once school gets out.

After getting off the roof they had found a stall in the local market willing to buy their merchandise, no questions asked. They made their purchases quick, picking up food, water, and other various supplies that could become useful on their travels. There wasn’t a lot, the supplies contained in a single pack, but it would make traveling light and easy.

He noticed the Jedi looking distractedly into the line of buildings. He looked in the same area and saw nothing save for the buildings and assorted merchants selling their goods. The man seemed to realize he was being watched, turning to focus on him, “We have to get back to the ship, we’ve been found,” he said as he grabbed his wrist, rushing him through a crowd of people and into a narrow alley.

“What do yo-,” he started before the Jedi put a hand over his mouth, shooting a look at him before turning back to the opening. Two men walked past carrying smooth Zygerrian blasters. His eyes widened, recognizing them as two of his old ‘masters’, if they had found them they had to leave. “We need to get back to the ship before they find us,” he warned, the Jedi already trailing after them.

They followed the two near the outskirts of the city where they were meeting up with another patrol. It was too late to find cover and before he could react, the Jedi had already jumped one of the four and knocked him to the ground. He was rushed by one of the others as the Jedi engaged another. He lashed a fist out, catching his opponent in the jaw, and hissing slightly as he hit one of the bone spines. Another well-placed punch to the gut sent his opponent to the ground with a grunt of pain.

He caught sight of the last man sprinting towards a speeder bike. He started for the man, running as fast as he could while carrying the large pack. He yelled for the Jedi who had downed his opponent and dashed towards the speeder. They got to it too late, the man jumping on the bike and kicking up a cloud of dust as it accelerated. He cursed as he tracked the man across the grasslands, “What do we do now?”.

“Hop on,” the Jedi responded as he got onto a second nearly identical bike, revving the engine as he stooped down to pick up a blaster. As soon as he got situated on the bike it jolted forward and he latched onto the Jedi to avoid falling off. The bike sped across the land, the golden grass and blue sky blurring together from the speed. “I see him” the Jedi yelled, his voice hard to hear over the wind, “Get ready to shoot”.

He scanned ahead of them, finding his target as they neared the fuel hub. He got him in the gun sight, hand steady as it could be while on the bike, and pulled the trigger. He scolded himself as the shot went over his head, the bike escaping past the side of the building. “I lost him” He yelled as they crossed onto the metal platforms of the hub, slowing the vehicle to a stop near the corner.

They edged around the side of the building, he spotted the ship relatively quick, a group of men standing around it almost as if they were guarding it. “They know we’re here,” he said as the man got off of the speeder bike and walked to the group around the ship, “What are we going to do?”.

The Jedi flashed him a sly grin as he walked a small distance from the hub, careful not to be seen. “How are you with heights,” He asked, his grin deepening into a flash of white teeth. He responded with a shrug, the Jedi taking that as a sign to go ahead with whatever he was planning. The Jedi lowered himself in a crouch, closed his eyes and raised his hand out in front of him. By the time he realized what was happening he felt himself become weightless, “Whatever you do,” the Jedi started calmly as his gaze returned to him, “Don’t scream too loud”.

He opened his mouth to protest when the Jedi threw his arms up, sending him flying into the sky. He hit the peak of his flight around ten feet above the metal roof of the hub and started to fall. He wrapped his arms around his chest and his arms flared with a dull pain when he impacted roughly. He propped himself up on his palms, pushing himself, and looked over the side to see the Jedi run towards the wall so fast that his body was a blur, with a well-placed jump he scaled most of the building and used the rest of his momentum to run the rest of the way up the vertical, landing next to him with a dull thud.

“I,” he huffed, “Hate… you”. He heard the Jedi chuckle behind him as he walked to the edge of the roof. He stood up and immediately started coughing, “I think I swallowed a bug,” he joked as he followed. The comment went without a response, the Jedi distractedly looking down at the landing pads below. The service droids were moving large devices over to their ship, securing them to the landing claws.

“They’re clamping our ship to the pad,” the Jedi explained, “We’re stuck here until we can get those clamps off”. He nodded pulling his blaster towards the group below, their blasters were pointed towards where they would have been had they continued with the speeder. 

“It’s only an electro clamp, it gets power from the landing pad and uses it to latch to the pad,” He explained, “They’re easy enough to deactiva-,”. He stopped when he saw something glow and throw sparks off of the ship’s hatch. The device left a glowing trail behind as it was pushed along, “They’re cutting in,” he realized, watching in horror as they were pushing it across the length of the door. He felt the air behind him disturb and turned to see the Jedi missing, looking back to the group he saw the Jedi land on the man holding the cutter, stopping them in their tracks. “Why can’t we ever just think these things through” He sighed as he shot at the men on the landing pad below.

More were flocking from the ship, red blasts from their blasters were easily dodged and he made sure to cover the human as best he could. He saw the moment when they saw him, one man pointing up to him and the rest finding cover or firing at him. He did his best to keep them at bay, firing at anyone who tried to move closer to the human. That was until he felt pain, a whole lot of it, ravage his body. His muscles tensed as what must have been electricity pulsed through him.

His body started tipping, his weight pulling himself closer to the edge. He felt the moment he started falling, the cold breeze mixing with the all body pain. The pain stopped and he closed his eyes, the instants that made up the fall dragged on in his mind. He would die in the attempt to become free, that was one of the best outcomes for slaves, he had found out what happened when a slave failed to escape and lived. He would die content.

 

He watched in horror as the Zygerrian fell from the roof, he reached out his hand, catching the man before he hit the ground. His eyes startled open as he was dropped the last few inches to the ground. He sighed in relief at the man’s wellbeing, forgetting about the fight he was involved in until he was tackled. He threw the attacker off and was rammed by another who latched their arms around his chest. He felt more people as they grabbed onto him, pushing him down to the ground.

“Well well Jedi,” The captain said, his presence radiating with pride and anger, “You lasted longer than any other escapee, but it seems you’re more trouble than your worth”. He pulled his blaster from his hip and jammed it his forehead, the barrel aligned with his brain. “Any last words,” He asked, his voice laced with malice and sarcasm.

“You remind me of an Admiral I worked with back in the Republic,” he spat, a grin coming easily to his face, “He wasn’t very bright”. The Captain’s reaction was violent, his face twisting into a grimace with his teeth bared. The sound of a door sliding open was barely heard by anyone, the Jedi only realizing it had opened because of the intense melody of his kyber crystal in the Force.

Everyone else's attention was drawn to the ship as Nexus yelled. He opened up his hand and grabbed his lightsaber as it flew into his hand. He thumbed the activator and he felt the metal hum with energy as the emerald blade extended. He reached out with the force, feeling all of the four beings holding him down, and pushed him all out with a sudden outburst in the force.

The four attackers were thrown back by an invisible force, their unconscious bodies crumpled on the ground. All blaster fire was concentrated on him, all of it easily blocked or avoided. He saw Nexus helping Zephyr to the ship, making sure to walk behind him. Nexus paused before he could walk past him, “We need to get this off of him,” Nexus said, his face displaying nothing but worry, “I completely forgot he had it, it’s a shock band”.

He nodded and took a quick moment to slice off the metal band around his wrist. In the blink of an eye, the band was falling to the ground and he had returned to the assailants. “Prep the ship and be ready to fly out of here, I’ll take care of the clamps,” He ordered sternly as he marched closer and closer to the slavers, not watching as Nexus hurried to the ship.

He chanced a glance behind him to find something that could be helpful, nothing but crates and fuel tanks. He recoiled at the fuel tank, it was incredibly lucky that they hadn’t hit one during the chaos of the fight, it gave him a horrible plan. He heard the ship power up, its engines humming, and reached out for the forgotten cutter. It was summoned to his hand and he activated it as fast as he could, throwing it at the nearest fuel tank with deadly accuracy. It went up in large flames that engulfed the immediate area, it lit up a covered fuel line, sending a flaming trail towards the slavers.

The slavers ran from their cover as the explosions grew closer to them, leading them right to him. The explosions suddenly stopped, the droids having shut off the pipeline before it reached the main fuel reservoirs. Looking around he saw droid crews running around the now evacuated and flaming landing pads. He watched as the slavers surrounded him like the clones had with Aedi, each of them hoisting their blasters at him. “It’s over Jedi,” The slaver captain bellowed in anger, “There is nowhere for you to go”.

Looking behind him he saw the ship, still fighting to escape the metal clamps that held it in place. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he turned the smooth metal hilt to the ground, feeling the calm and serenity the Jedi preached flood through him. He opened his eyes, drawing his arm back he threw the lightsaber, guiding its path with the force. It arked back, flying over their heads, and impaled itself in one of the large fuel towers.

Everything was drowned out by the fuel igniting, sending flames across the entire pad. An urge from the force had him leaping into the air and holding out his hand. He curled in on himself as the flames engulfed him, the heat was oppressive and the world soon went dark from pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not update after school got out, but as you can see it is here. After some bullying from the not so esteemed Mathematics_Holt, I have returned. More to come once school gets back. Just wanted to post so all of the 65, or fewer, readers knew I wasn't dead.


	11. Cliff-Hangar...ish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part of a story that was better in my head than it was on paper, but I have ideas for this story so here is the end. Enjoy.

As soon as he got the cockpit he set Zephyr down on one of the seats and powered up the engines. He gave the control yokes a push, the engines humming becoming more intense as their power increased, but that was all. The ship hadn’t moved, they were stuck. “Come on sir,” he urged to the air, “We need to get out of here”.

He gave the yokes another strong pull but the ship didn’t budge. He panicked when he saw explosions run across the pad, it seemed the Jedi was a magnet for disasters. He couldn’t do anything but continue to try and pull the ship off the pad. He was broken from his efforts as he heard a gasp from his right, looking over to see a very terrified Zephyr staring at him.

“They found us,” he panicked.

“Yep,” he replied distractedly as he started powering up the shields, not that they would help if any more of the fuel went up in flames.

“The ship’s been clamped”.

“Uh-huh,” The ground shook at what must’ve been another fuel cell going off, Then came the mother of all explosions that set off most of the ship’s alarms.

“AND EVERYTHING IS BLOWING UP” He yelled as the ship was thrust forwards, the clamps finally releasing their grip on the ship.

“Just another day in our lives,” he responded as he pulled the ship into a steep climb, only leveling it out when they were just below the clouds, leveling out the ship to see the flaming ball that was the fuel hub. “It’s part of the whole Jedi thing,” he said as he looked at Zephyr, his face plastered with fear.

“Where is he anyways,” Zephyr asked a while later as the flames started dying down, emergency vehicles swarming around the area. He had landed the ship not too far from the hub, close enough to see the vehicles, but not near enough to where they could pick up their dormant ship.

“I haven’t seen him since he-,” a sudden realization struck him, and it sank in like a disabled ship in a gravity well. The plumes of flame flashed through his mind, engulfing the Jedi in flames. He watched as Zephyr’s face fell, he hadn’t known them long but it seemed he felt connected to them already if his grief was anything to go with. He had lost brothers before, he had experience with the grief and emptiness left by their death but he also knew how to deal with it, Zephyr didn’t.

“H-he sacrificed himself for us” Zephyr stammered, gaze focused on the smoking remains of the hub. It was evident that Zephyr was not well used to people dying, at least not for his life.

“I didn’t know him very personally, mostly knew him from stories and from our recent adventures,” He started, his voice was quiet and his face downcast, “But he was a good man, didn’t know many who were better”.

Zephyr nodded slightly in agreement, releasing a sad sigh. “Nobody had ever shown me kindness without conditions, much less die saving me,” he paused taking a moment to breathe before continuing on, “He didn’t deserve to go how he did”.

Nexus couldn’t agree more, the Jedi had been the closest thing to a parent the clones had ever had. He didn’t even have that many memories with the Jedi but he knew this to be true, it was apparent in his actions to visit all of the squads who had lost people and from what he heard his door was always open to someone who needed to talk. “He would have liked how he went out,” he responded, “He was sort of a slave to helping others, it was part of his nature, not to mention he went out with a bang”.

Zephyr punched his arm, nearly tipping him off the chair, but there was a noticeable weight relieved from his shoulders. He chuckled as he righted himself, taking in the grasslands that were mostly unblemished by smoking debris. It was a nice looking planet, being untouched by the war, even if there was an ugly side to it. He sat there, blankly staring at the grasslands, when something cast a shadow over the viewport and pulled his attention upwards to see a slim tail fly out of sight. He was about to dismiss it when he heard whatever it was roar and bang against the back of the ship.

“What is that thing doing” He called out as he got up and walked into the cargo hold, Zephyr right behind him.

“I don’t know,” Zephyr answered as he went to the door controls, “Brezak usually ignore ships”. As soon as the door opened they were met with a large reptilian head that pushed through the too small opening. It roared again, sounding impatient as it took in the two humanoids. It seemed to find what it was looking for and pulled its head out of the hatch, backing off and dumping something charred at the base of the now extended boarding ramp.

It walked a few meters away from the object and looked at the two expectantly. He walked out of the ship, slowly approaching the man-sized object. The creature, a brezak, growled at him defensively like it was protecting the object. He crouched down, trying to project his movements as best as he could, touching the blackened mass. It spasmed at his touch and he gasped, falling back in surprise.

“ZEPHYR,” He yelled urgently, “Get me a med kit, NOW”. He turned the man around to see his mostly unharmed face, it was the General, his front side seemed to be mostly intact along with his legs, but his back was charred and burned, shrapnel sticking out every so often.

When Zephyr came back he quickly got to work removing the shrapnel from the man’s back, each time earned a pained spasm from the Jedi. “I need you to hold him still,” He shouted to Zephyr, “And give him whatever painkillers or anesthetics we have”. He barely registered Zephyr moving to the Jedi’s front side and injecting something into him.

The Jedi went lax soon after the injection and he was able to clean and dress the wounds. Together, he and Zephyr lifted the Jedi into the hold and placed him down on his stomach as they unrolled a cot for him. He sighed in relief as the Jedi was settled in before collapsing to the floor and sitting against a crate. “Well that was lucky” he heard Zephyr say as he sat down next to him.

“He’s luckier than most,” He replied as he watched over the Jedi encased in bandages and tattered robes, “Although I think we’re gonna need new clothes for him”. Zephyr gave a slight chuckle before he rose to his feet, offering a hand to help him up. The Brezak had long since bounded off when the ship lifted off the ground, heading towards the city. They made one last trip to the city for supplies before leaving the grasslands behind.

He set random coordinates into the computer, hoping to get as far from Zygerria as possible. He was so done with the constant catch and release game they seemed to be playing, it was honestly ridiculous. The sky around them faded into star-speckled black. He relaxed, sighing, as the blue and white tunnel that was hyperspace appeared in front of him. He felt his eyes droop as the exhaustion in his system washed over him, letting himself drift into sleep as the ship spiraled into hyperspace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably be more parts to this fic and I will try to make them better than this. I tend to be a lazy writer and I am trying to break that habit, just hang with me. Leave comments, criticism, and kudos, and enjoy a happy new year.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic posted so please keep that in mind. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome, so, get going, and a few kudos would really make my day :)


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